Assessment of the State of Soils and Vegetation in Areas of Landfills and Municipal Solid Waste Sites (a Review)

An overview of modern ideas on the ecological and geochemical state of soils and vegetation in the sites of landfills and municipal solid waste storage is presented. The technogenic impact on the environment and soil is determined by the (1) withdrawal of land for landfills, (2) production of filtration water with toxic components upon decomposition of solid wastes, and (3) biogas generation. The heavy metal pollution of surface soil horizons is characteristic for the sites of solid waste storage and their impact zones irrespectively of climatic conditions, ways of waste management, and stages of the life cycle. At the same time, heavy metals accumulate in ruderal herbaceous plants. Changes in the geochemical and microbiological characteristics of soils and disturbances in the plant cover are not restricted to the area of the designated sanitary protection zone. Buried landfills, where the decomposition of organic matter under anaerobic conditions results in the production of carbon dioxide and methane with their concentration in the soil and ground air also become dangerous for the environment. In the sites of landfills and municipal solid waste storage, weakly developed surface and chemically transformed soils, technosols and technogenic surface formations are being formed.